Switchblade
by Neko Phoenix Girl
Summary: Revised - Slight AU -- “I’m gonna break you so badly, you’ll never mess with me again.” -- Roxas widened his eyes in dismay. “You wouldn’t!” 'Axel... please... where are you'-- *slash* *AkuRoku*


**(Revised Version)**

Well, here I am, with my first Kingdom Hearts fic ever, at long last. I've been planning to write a fic for this fandom for a long time now ('cause I LOVE IT!!), but things didn't come out quite exactly as planned. I meant to start things off with a Riku/Sora, but I ended up coming up first with an AkuRoku. This pairing is just too cute for words (and the most obvious in the game too). Constructive criticism is welcome. I need to improve my writing a bit… Well, I hope you enjoy.

Note: It's set in an AU world because, even though it's the normal KH universe, Axel and Roxas don't belong to Organization XIII, seeing as the organization doesn't even exist. Also, the layout of Twilight Town has been slightly tweaked to my convenience.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Would I honestly be writing this if I did?

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Also, before I did this revision, somebody asked me why AkuRoku was called so. It comes from Axel and Roxas's japanese names, AKUseru and ROKUsas. Hope that clears things up. :-)

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_Switchblade_

"Roxas?"

"Hmm…"

"Roxas!"

The blond teen seemed to snap out of a daze. He shook his head slightly and turned to look at his friend Hayner.

"Emm… What?"

At this, Hayner let out a sigh. "I said… are you gonna stay over tonight? It's almost midnight."

"Oh…" Roxas muttered blankly. "No… I should get home…"

The blond boy still had a vacant look in his face. Hayner flashed him a look full of worry.

"Are you sure?"

A sigh. "Yes, Hayner. I'm sure…"

"Ok…" Hayner muttered, non-too convinced, as he walked his friend to the foyer. Roxas opened the door and was immediately hit by a chilly nighttime breeze. The days were getting cooler. Summer was almost over.

"Bye, Hayner." Roxas mumbled as he crossed the doorway. As the blonde disappeared down the sidewalk, he left a very apprehensive Hayner leaning on his doorway.

"Be careful, Roxas…" He whispered.

_'Roxas...'_

_

* * *

_Roxas mindlessly wandered the dim streets of Twilight Town, the fact that he was supposed to be heading home already completely forgotten. He didn't seem to care that it was close to midnight, or that the streets of the town were known to be dangerous at this late hour.

In his mind, there was nothing… nothing except one painful memory that came back to haunt him over and over again…

_(Flashback)_

"_Axel!" A much younger Roxas called out as he ran towards the train station, seeking out a lean figure wrapped in a black cloak. "Axel, wait! _

_When Roxas finally reached the figure's back, he held on tightly to the cloak, still panting from his run. The owner of said cloak looked over his shoulder at the young blonde curiously._

_Instantly, the hood came off to reveal a tall and lean boy about sixteen, with unbelievable spiked red hair and piercing green eyes that brightened at the sight of Roxas. He turned around and wrapped his arms around the younger boy in a hug._

"_Roxas. What're you doing here?" he asked, surprised, as Roxas tightened his grip on him. _

"_Axel, where are you going?" The blonde questioned back, sky-blue eyes quivering in anxiousness. "Why are you leaving?"_

_Axel let out a sigh. This is why he had wanted to leave unnoticed… Now things were going to be a heck of a lot harder on both him and his best friend._

"_Rox, I'm leaving Twilight Town."_

_The younger stubbornly pulled on his cloak. "Why?"_

_Axel suddenly broke eye contact with him, and turned to look toward the beautiful view of the ocean that the Station's location provided. Sky and sea merged in the horizon to form one beautiful blue, a blue that reminded him of Roxas's eyes. Those beautiful eyes that haunted him not only in his sleep, but also every waking moment._

"_I've been told there are other worlds out there, Roxas. Worlds full of dangers and adventures, just waiting for me. Twilight Town is too calm and boring for a maniac like me."_

_He should have known. Axel had always been the kind of guy that couldn't sit still for more than three seconds. He had to constantly be involved in some kind of frenzied activity, or else he'd get bored. Twilight Town was much too quiet for him. The only action they would get once in a while would be the Struggle matches, but since Axel's "fireworks" incident two years ago, the red-headed pyromaniac had been banned from the competitions, much to Seifer's delight._

"_There's nothing for me here, Rox. Besides, it's not as if I'd be missed." Axel chuckled, remembering one particular incident in which he had set the town square on fire accidentally. The townspeople had practically mobbed him, with pitchforks and everything._

_True, none of those people would miss you, Roxas thought. But…_

"_What about me? I'd miss you."_

_Emerald looked down to meet sapphire in an emotional clash. Roxas's blue eyes looked about ready to spill several tears, although he was too stubborn to allow himself to cry. Crying was for the weak… and he was strong… strong like Axel._

"_We'll see each other again..." The redhead whispered calmly, although inside he was wrenching in pain. Why was it so painful to say goodbye?_

_Roxas shook his head no. "That's not good enough."_

_Axel took hold of the blond's chin, and forced him to look into his eyes. "We will see each other again… it's a promise. Got it memorized?"_

_Then, he placed a soft kiss on Roxas's forehead before turning around and heading to the station. Roxas did nothing but stare hopelessly as his best friend (and the one he loved) stowed away in the train's cargo wagon… as the train tooted one final time, steam spouting from its chimney… as it slowly disappeared through those sealed gates that took to other worlds._

"_Axel…"_

_(End of Flashback)_

"Axel…" Roxas let out in a breath. "Why did you have to leave… me?"

It had been three years since Axel had left Twilight Town. Three long years… but the memories were still fresh in his mind. What irked Roxas the most, however, was the fact that he could probably be by Axel's side right now… if only he had been brave enough.

"Dammit… I should've followed him…" He cried, smashing his fist into a nearby building. "But I let him slip through my fingers…"

'_I wasn't brave enough… I wasn't brave… brave like him.' _

Unwarily, Roxas wandered into Twilight Town's Sandlot, usual spot for the infamous Seifer and his gang. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice where he was until he crashed into a… wall? Well, whatever it had been, it was rock-solid.

The collision caused Roxas to stagger backwards a little. He shook off his unsteadiness and looked up to look at what (or who) exactly he had bumped into.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Came a spoken smirk. "If it isn't little Roxas."

The blond frowned, uneasy… he had crashed onto Seifer, head of Twilight Town's Disciplinary Committee, and also the town's most feared warrior and bully, who also happened to be his biggest enemy. Just last week, they had gotten involved in a Struggle match which Roxas had barely won, causing Seifer's deep-rooted yet unexplainable resent toward him to grow. Seifer had stormed off from the competition that day, shouting that he would get his revenge.

It was just his luck to come across Seifer right now… unarmed and helpless against an armed tank. And to top it off, Rai and Fuu, Seifer's little "posse", were not too far behind.

"Seifer…"

Roxas warily started to walk away, but Seifer beat him to the punch. He grabbed the bewildered blond by the waist and pulled him close.

"Why the angst, doll face?" Seifer teased in a sickeningly sweet voice, as he forced Roxas to look straight into his eyes. "A pretty-looking thing like you shouldn't go around looking so down."

With a groan, Roxas was quick to push himself away from the older teen.

"What do you want, Seifer?" He growled venomously. "If it's a fight you want, I'm not in the mood."

Seifer merely chuckle. "Oh, you've got me all wrong, Roxie."

He started walking toward the blond boy. But for every step Seifer took forward, Roxas took one back, until he found himself cornered in the alley.

"I don't want a fight." Seifer said huskily as he closed in on Roxas, eyes locked on his prey. "I just want my revenge."

Roxas's eyes widened as Seifer lunged to grab him. He managed to dodge-roll out of the way just in the nick of time. The other boy looked none-too happy.

"Rai. Fuu. Get him!" He barked at his henchmen, pointing straight at Roxas. The blonde gasped and dove into the nearby Underground Concourse, with the hopes of losing his 'hunters' in the tunnel's labyrinth-like paths. Rai and Fuu wasted no time in following him into the tunnels.

Seifer smirked wickedly. "_…and when you do… bring him to me."

* * *

_

"_Oh great… which way now?"_

A vexed-looking young man crossed his arms over his chest and pouted as he came to a fork in the tunnel. He was greatly annoyed… he was LOST! For crying out loud, a guy like him NEVER got lost.

"_Not my fault it's my first time in this stupid labyrinth… I wonder whose stupid idea was it to build this maze…Man… I feel like a rat lost in a tunnel."_

'_Ok… this way, or THAT way?'_

His thoughts were interrupted, however, when he heard calling voices and running steps approaching.

"_This place just keeps getting weirder and weirder…" _

Wishing to remain unseen, he dove into the shadows, sharp eyes ready to see just what the hell was going on. His eyes widened at the sight of a familiar blond boy, who stopped at the fork and hunched over to recover his breath. The boy didn't stay long, however. He looked over his shoulder in fright and dove into the left branch of the tunnel, completely unaware of the pair of emerald-green eyes that watched him from a nook in the shadows.

"_Roxas… That was Roxas!"_

The owner said eyes was about to follow the blonde, when he heard more approaching steps. He turned around and came face to face with Rai and Fuu.

"Pest." Fuu declared promptly, pointing an accusing finger at the guy standing in their way.

"Hey, you're in our way, y'know?" Rai barked unceremoniously at the lanky figure, but the stranger presented him with a smirk that gave him an uneasy feeling in his gut.

"_Oh, AM I now?"

* * *

_

Roxas managed to reach the Tram Common, one of the concourse's many destinations. With ragged breather, he looked over his shoulder for any signs of Rai or Fuu. Nothing. Good.

The blonde leant on the brick wall to regain his breath. This was not good… He was starting to wish he had taken up Hayner's offer to sleep over. This night was becoming a little too hectic for his liking.

He had to get somewhere safe, like the Usual Spot, before Seifer found him. He groaned and pushed himself up again, and started his run towards the Station Heights. Once he made it there, all he had to do was round a corner, and he'd be in the Back Alley, where he could duck into the Usual Spot until Seifer gave up the hunt.

But God wasn't on his side today…

"Where do you think _YOU'RE_ going?"

Next thing he knew, he was being flung harshly back against the wall. He winced and put a hand to his pained left shoulder before turning quivering blue eyes toward his assailant; Seifer. How had the other guy found him?

'_This can't be… he didn't follow me through the tunnel… how did he know I'd come here?' _

This was no time for questions, however, as Seifer closed in on him.

"You are such a load of trouble, Roxas." The older teen complained, sounding a mixture of husky and annoyed. But his scowl quickly turned into a smirk. "But you're worth every ounce of effort."

Before Roxas could complain, Seifer grabbed a fistful of the blonde's shirt and tore at it savagely, ripping most of the fabric away.

"What are you doing?" The blond boy asked alarmed, as he tried to wrest himself from Seifer's grip, but it was pointless. Seifer was unrelenting, and physically a lot stronger.

Seifer just laughed and licked his lips. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for this." With that, he tore away the remainder of Roxas's shirt, revealing a smooth, toned torso.

"No… Stop it! Let me go!" Roxas frantically cried out, but his complaints fell on deaf ears. Instead, Seifer carelessly shoved him up the wall. Roxas grimaced as the brick scraped and drew scratches into his back. He could feel the scratches starting to bleed.

"_Why is he doing this to me?"_

The blonde whimpered when Seifer pinned his arms over his head. He was indisputably trapped.

"Why… why are you…" Roxas started, but Seifer shut him up with a forced kiss. The blonde froze in shock.

Seifer pulled away and leered at him. "I'm gonna break you so badly, you'll never mess with me again." He said, and his lips formed a positively evil smirk. "I'm gonna fuck you senseless."

Roxas widened his eyes in dismay. His voice came out choked. "Y-you wouldn't!"

"You? Any day, doll face."

_'Axel…'_

"Seifer… please. No…" Roxas begged as Seifer used one of his hands to slowly trace his jaw and his neck, all the way down to his chest, while he used the other to keep him trapped.

He could resist the searing pain in his back and shoulder… he could resist Seifer's compassionless verbal assault… but there's a point where every person crumbles. The blonde became a shivering helpless mass as Seifer continued his torture; the taller teen ran his cold fingers down Roxas's bare skin, purely enjoying the other's suffering. Ahh… revenge was sweet.

'_Much sweeter than I anticipated.' _Seifer mused as he furthered his affliction upon the delectable blond boy.

"Stop it! Please…"

Roxas shut his eyes tightly and turned his head away, almost as if hoping that the lack of eye contact with Seifer would somehow make this nightmare end. But that wasn't in the older teen's plans.

"_Axel… please… where are you?"_

Seifer took hold of Roxas's chin and got closer… so close that the blonde could feel the hot breath on his skin. "You're so goddamn beautiful, you know that?" He practically whispered against Roxas's lips.

The poor blonde gasped and his eyes widened in pure horror when he felt Seifer slowly start to unbuckle his belt and undo his pants.

"Seifer, don't!" He pleaded, before the older teen shut him up with another unwanted kiss. Roxas winced at the brutal pressure the other was using against him; Seifer gripped his chin and forced his mouth to open and give him reluctant entrance.

Tears started to fall from tightly shut blue orbs.

"_This is it… I'm done for…"_

"_**Get the fuck off him!"**_

Seifer pulled away from the broken angel, startled. Who dared interrupt him when he was getting his satisfying revenge?

He growled and turned to glare at the intruder, with intentions of murdering with his sight. But the glare quickly turned into a gape, and Seifer let go of Roxas, who slumped down the brick wall into a tearful, trembling pile.

_- Demonic red hair… pure hatred glaring at him from those savage green eyes… -_

"No fucking way…"

"A-Axel!" Both Seifer and Roxas gasped. The former sounded choked, while the latter sounded raspy. The blonde couldn't believe his eyes.

"_No way… Axel… You're here…"_

Roxas watched with quivery eyes as the spiky red head roughly took hold of the front of Seifer's shirt. To say that Axel was furious was the understatement of the century.

"You bastard." The red head growled, pure venomous hatred dripping off his voice. Without warning, he smashed his fist into Seifer's face, a move that sent his target reeling back. The beanie-wearing teen quickly picked himself up and rubbed his rapidly-swelling cheek angrily.

"What the fuck do you think you're _DOING_ to him?"

"You… don't interfere!" Seifer spat back at him, and wiped off some blood from his cheek with the back of his hand. "I have a bone to pick with the kid. It doesn't concern you."

"If it involves Roxas, it _does _concern me."

Seifer cracked his knuckles and took out his club, which he kept hung from a hook in the side of his pants, always ready for a brawl. Axel, meanwhile, was unarmed but unafraid. Seifer had never been a match for him before, and he sure as hell was not about to start now.

Slowly Axel and Seifer started to circle each other, away from the boy they were fighting over. Said boy was observing intently from his position on the floor, too hurt to even pick himself up. His sapphire-blue eyes were locked on the redhead, whose gaze in turn was locked angrily on Seifer.

"_Axel… be careful…"_

Seifer lunged at Axel, emitting a hoarse battle cry. Axel blocked with his arms crossed, and then took a swipe at Seifer with his fists. The Struggler sidestepped the blow and landed gracefully on both feet.

Wasting no time, Seifer quickly swung again. But this time instead of blocking, Axel took hold of the struggling club and, taking advantage of his opponent's stunned reaction, solidly connected his fist with Seifer's gut. The Struggler was sent reeling back, clutching his stomach in pain. He groaned and coughed up some blood, which he wiped away with his fist, then looked up to glare at Axel.

"You'll pay for that, you freak." Seifer snarled, standing upright and clutching his club again. Axel's blow might have been forceful, but Seifer recovered quickly. Merely seconds after getting back on his feet, he began to shower Axel with a flurry of blows that the redhead could barely block.

"_He's definitely become stronger these past three years,"_ Axel thought when Seifer finally managed to graze his cheek. _"He's much faster, and he's not as reckless. But unfortunately for him, this has to end now."_

"Sorry," Axel muttered, none-too apologetic, mind you, as he ducked an incoming blow and prepared himself to strike an uppercut.

"Don't think so, loser."

Axel's eyes widened. Seifer moved at lightning speed, evading the uppercut, and reached into his pocket to pull out a switchblade. Next thing he knew, there was a searing pain cutting through the left side of his abdomen. He then groaned in pain when Seifer kicked him in the wound, a move that effectively knocked him down.

"You're all washed up, lamer." Seifer teen sneered, looking down scornfully at his fallen opponent. Axel might be stronger, but the blade gave the Struggler the upper hand.

"You spineless coward," Axel spat back at him. He tried to push himself up with one arm, clutching at his wound with the other. But Seifer smiled cruelly and kicked him again. The redhead fell back down with an excruciating cry as he held his bleeding side.

"Axel! No!" Roxas cried out, eyes wide with fright.

The small outburst caused Seifer to turn towards Roxas. In the midst of his battle, he had almost forgotten about the delectable blond. With a leer on his face, he sauntered over to the younger boy. His grin widened when he noticed the look of sheer terror on Roxas's face as he desperately tried to back away. But the blond soon found himself cornered against the wall again.

"Seifer, leave him alone!" Axel warned, struggling once more to get on his feet. But Seifer just sent him a contemptuous smile before harshly jerking a shivering Roxas up by the arm. Terrified blue and leering aquamarine eyes locked once more.

"Now… where were we?"

Roxas shook from head to toe as Seifer pinned him against the wall once more. The Struggler made use of his switchblade, gently caressing Roxas's neck as he spoke loud enough for Axel to hear.

"My poor sweet Roxas, so irresistibly beautiful and scared..."

Seifer smirked. He was riling Axel up, and loving every second of it.

"Roxas…" Axel growled, once more attempting to get back on his feet. He winced in pain as the sudden movement sent waves of pain through his abdomen. _'Roxas…'_

'_This bastard isn't getting the best of me. I'm not giving him that pleasure.'_

Roxas winced when Seifer roughly gripped his chin.

'_Stop it…'_

The blond let out a whimper when the Struggler smothered him with his body.

"…A-Axel…"

"I SAID STOP!"

Seifer couldn't help but gawk wide-eyed as he found himself pinned against the ground by a ferocious-looking Axel. The redhead was livid. Although out of breath, he grit his teeth and ignored the vicious pain in his abdomen as he rammed his fist at Seifer over and over.

"Don't… _EVER…_ touch… _ROXAS…_ ever… _again_!" Axel punctuated every word with a hit. Seifer was having a hard time defending himself. Taking advantage of an opening, he managed to elbow the redhead's wound and flip their positions as Axel groaned in pain.

"I'll touch him whatever I want, _freak_," Seifer snarled, then proceeding to beat Axel to a bloody pulp. The redhead cried out in pain again when the other dug his knuckles into his side.

Roxas watched, eyes wide in terror. He wanted to get up. He wanted to hurt Seifer, make him stop hurting Axel… but it was as if he was rooted on the spot. He couldn't move… he couldn't speak… it was unbearable. His eyes began to well up in tears as he continued to watch Axel getting pummeled mercilessly.

'_It's my fault… it's all MY fault…'_

He let out a gasp when Axel screamed in pain again.

'_Stop…'_

Another groan.

"_Stop it… now…"_

In his pained stupor, Axel let his hands wander aimlessly around his surroundings, feeling for something, anything that could be useful. He clawed at the ground until he finally ran his fingers over something sleek and cold. His eyes widened.

'_The switchblade!'_

He gripped it tightly, waiting for the right moment. When Seifer began to take momentum for his next blow, Axel nailed the dagger deep into his shoulder. The stricken teen let out an ear-spliting cry and fell back gripping the switchblade, trying to pull it out.

Axel used this opportunity to get on his feet. He lifted the wailing Seifer up by the shirt, and punched him with all his might. The Struggler was flung back against the wall, slid down it and then remained motionless. He was knocked out.

'_It's over…'_

Axel let himself collapse next to Seifer's unconscious body, panting heavily. Looking over his opponent's inert body, he let out a sound of disgust.

'_Bastard… I should've killed him… How could he do that to Roxas… oh shit! Roxas!'_

Axel looked around, desperately looking for Roxas. The blond was curled up against the wall, looking straight at him with tear-filled blue eyes.

"_Axel…"_

"Roxas!"

Momentarily forgetting all his pain and ignoring his wounds, Axel made a bee line for the blond. In a split second he was kneeling down, stripping off his cloak and wrapping it around Roxas's shivering body. He then pulled the abused boy into his arms.

"Oh Roxas… Roxas… Roxas… shit… Roxas…" He repeated like a painful mantra as he cuddled the blond against his own body. "I'm so sorry."

Like Axel, the poor boy was a mess. His back was covered in several nasty scratches outlined in caked blood, and his right shoulder was badly scraped and bruised. His unbuckled pants were barely dangling from his slim hips, and his shirt was practically nonexistent.

Roxas shivered, both from cold and from fright. And he felt dirty… so filthy, grimy, dirty.

"Axel… Axel…" Roxas sobbed mindlessly as he clutched onto the redhead. "I thought… I thought he was going to kill you!"

In a display of selflessness, Axel hushed him gently. "Forget about me. I'm okay. I'm here…"

He then put one arm under Roxas's knees and the other behind his back, lifting the blond up bridal-style.

"Let's get out of here…"

To Be Continued…

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Poor Roxas… poor Axel… poor Seifer… I'm just positively evil… I don't really dislike Seifer… but he seemed so fitting for the role…

Well, there it is, the very extensive first part of two. This is by far the longest piece of writing I've done for one chapter… Yay me! (wink) I hope to hear from you guys. I'd like to know people's impression about this before I post the second part (some much needed AkuRoku fluff… oops! Did I say that? Bad Ruby… bad! Don't spoil it!). Constructive criticism is most welcome. Until next time!

XOXO

Ruby Hiwatari aka Neko Phoenix Girl


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